A Virtual
Computer Lab
in the Cloud

Cailean Cooney, Harlan Kellaway, & Stephen Zweibel

DH: Digital Humanities

Using computational methods for humanistic inquiry

DH Tools

Hold promise for humanities inquiry

Require specialized knowledge to install, configure, and use

Applications

  • Text Mining
  • Topic Modeling
  • Digital Repositories
  • Interactive Exhibits
  • Data Visualization

However...

Computational methods need infrastructure

(Especially hard to get in the humanities)

  • Virtual computer in the cloud
  • DH tools pre-installed
  • Clear documentation

Tools

  • IPython
  • Natural Language Toolkit
  • MALLET: MAchine Learning for LanguagE Toolkit
  • Omeka
  • R Studio
  • More coming

How?

Technical "Details"

Who?

Educators

Scholars

Students

  • Save money
    • Each instance = $0.02/hour
  • Save time
    • Instantiates in 5 minutes
  • Save space
    • Computer lab in the cloud





https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/

Next Steps

More custom installs

More security/hardening

User feedback

DH Box is in the classroom

Contact us:

hello@dhbox.org

Questions?

DH Box @DH_Box

Stephen Zweibel @stevezweibel

Cailean Cooney @_csmcc

Harlan Kellaway @DigiHumanatee


Thanks to Professors Matt Gold & Dennis Tenen